Springbrook junior elected SMOB

Junior Sarah Horvitz of Springbrook High School was elected as the 29th Student Member of the Board (SMOB). The results were certified yesterday at 6:31 p.m.

Horvitz won 54.39 percent of all votes while her opponent, Lindsay Abbett, gathered 45.61 percent of votes. Nine hundred and sixty-three of the ballots were "no votes," meaning that the students voted but exercised their right to not choose either candidate. Of the 76,372 middle and high school students "registered" to vote, 62,287 students voted, bringing the voter turnout to 81.6 percent, according to Genie Harman, secretary of the MCPS Student Affairs Office.

Elections were held in Montgomery County middle and high schools over the past two days. Touch-screen voting machines recorded students' votes on voter cards, which were returned to MCPS offices. Each school had a judge and advisor who were trained on how to use the voting machines. "All protocols had to be followed, just like any other election," said Harman.

Blair held voting for school SGA positions and SMOB simultaneously in the small gym. Freshmen, sophomores and juniors were allowed to vote for class officers and SMOB, while seniors voted for only SMOB.

Abbett and Horvitz were chosen from five initial candidates at the Nominating Convention on March 2, during which delegates from Montgomery County schools engaged in two rounds of voting.